
Germany will start offering COVID-19 booster shots as of September and make it easier for 12-to-17-year-olds to get a jab, the health ministry said Monday, according to AFP.
Health Minister Jens Spahn and his 16 regional peers agreed after talks that the elderly and at-risk should receive a booster shot, citing concerns over "a reduced or rapidly declining immune response" among some groups.
Mobile vaccination teams should be sent into care and nursing homes, the text said, to offer Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna booster shots to residents, regardless of which vaccine they had originally.
Doctors will also be able to administer booster jabs to those who qualify, including people with weakened immune systems.
A booster shot will also be offered to anyone who received the two-dose AstraZeneca or single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines, the document released by Spahn's ministry said, "in the interests of preventative healthcare".
The announcement comes a day after it was reported that Britain will offer booster vaccines against COVID-19 to 32 million citizens starting early next month with up to 2,000 pharmacies set to deliver the program.
This past Friday, Israel launched its mass vaccination campaign promoting a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal, were the first to receive the third dose, with Bennett accompanying the two at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer.
Israel is the first country in the world to offer a third dose of the COVID vaccine, with the government urging Israelis over the age of 60 to receive a third jab to combat the spread of the Delta variant.
Pfizer recently announced plans to ask US regulators to authorize a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine within the next month.
Following that announcement, top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said that “it is entirely conceivable, maybe likely” that Americans will need a booster dose but also stressed that it is too soon for the government to recommend another shot.
Last week, he said that booster shots may be suggested for people with suppressed immune systems who have been vaccinated.